Just returned from a cast and blast. Started on the south fork of the Snake River in Idaho. Great time learning to use tiny flies. Fishing was great, amazing given the air temps were in the 30's. Scored a "South Fork Slam" by taking cutts, hybrids, rainbows, and browns in the same day. Then went upland hunting a bit north. Temps were much lower (9-10 F) in the morning warming to 18 by mid afternoon. Bird numbers were down but I was able to shoot a "slam" by taking a pheasant, Hun, and sharptail in the same day. It was nice to get back to some warmer temps and now I can focus on some sea runs for a few days before waterfowl starts.

Just returned from a cast and blast. Started on the south fork of the Snake River in Idaho. Great time learning to use tiny flies. Fishing was great, amazing given the air temps were in the 30's. Scored a "South Fork Slam" by taking cutts, hybrids, rainbows, and browns in the same day. Then went upland hunting a bit north. Temps were much lower (9-10 F) in the morning warming to 18 by mid afternoon. Bird numbers were down but I was able to shoot a "slam" by taking a pheasant, Hun, and sharptail in the same day. It was nice to get back to some warmer temps and now I can focus on some sea runs for a few days before waterfowl starts.

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Wow!! Great trip, Karl...nice when you've got all "your birds & fish in a row", huh?

Great trip! I just returned from just north of Great Falls (Choteau area). Started hunting Saturday (opening day) and had very good hunting. Our group of 10 all got our limits the first day. We were a few short the next day. We had planned to fish the Missouri Monday but temps in the teens for a high made that impossible, so another day of hunting. After 3 days of hunting, we had to cook up some pheasant so we could hunt another day. Finally on Wednesday the temps came up and we had an awesome day with big fish eating #18-20 BWO'S all day long and temps in the 50's! One of my best days ever on the Missouri with both large bows and browns. I think I lost my camera at the take out in the dark, so no pics and a new waterproof camera on the way (my old Olympus waterproof had been a very good camera, but 5 years of abuse had left the screen almost unreadable, so a new one was in order anyway, so I'm getting a Panasonic Lumix waterproof.) Final bird count for the 10 of us-90 pheasants (plus 8 eaten!) 3 sharpies and one hun. A great trip! Rick

Rick,
Glad you found some birds. I heard the pheasant hatch was way down in Montana so congrats on an extra special hunt. The fishing sounds fantastic, too. Ain't fall great?

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I do think the bird population is down compared to last year, which was low compared to the previous couple years. We saw and harvested some very young roosters. Our success was a result of 2" of snow on the ground (probably the first and last time that will ever happen), some very good veteran dogs, and some very productive private land to hunt on. I hope the hatch weather is better next spring! Fall is great-only too short! Rick

JC,
How you been? Hadn't heard from you in a while. Doing any fishing?

Karl

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Hi Karl,

Doin' ok for an old fart I reckon! Haven't been doing as much fishing as I'd like. Hit Purdy a couple of weeks ago for about an hour and docs for about 45 minutes...no luck.

Hit a couple of new places (for me) on the S river...no luck there either.

Started year 72 yesterday so party time with the kids & grandkids tomorrow night - kinda wanted to hit the Methow this weekend since I've never fished it before and am hearing great things about it....but not for just one day....oh well.

Rick,
We definitely hunt the same area and had very similar experience. I really hope there is a good hatch for next year. I had two back to back years when it took about an hour to fill out on pheasants and then we went off to chase sharptails, snipe and ducks. This year was great fun but very, very cold. Tired me out.

JC,I love hunting, both upland and waterfowl. My trips to Montana are always great, I get to spend time with cousins and hunt some really wild and beautiful country. Access to private land is getting more and more difficult as more out of state hunters come into Montana. Many out of staters are also buying up land and restricting access for various reasons. Thank goodness Montana has the block management system. Good hunting can be found but it takes work. It's also like finding a good access to the beach for SRC's: you don't tell anyone where it is or you'll end up with a crowd.

I'm also finding that age is slowing me down a bit. I work out daily but at 61 it's not as easy to get up and charge off on the second day of hunting pheasants. The third day is a definite rest day. Ducks, now, that's different. I have a UTV and can haul my equipment to the blind and back. It's much easier on the body plus I carry a store for cooking breakfast, a heater for staying warm, plus anything else I think I might need to comfortably hunt that day. Very civilized, eh?

We just added a 75 year old member to the duck club. He indicated he doesn't get to the blind until 8:30 or 9:00. Now that is VERY civilized.

Hey Karl-I turned the big 60 this year! The 4 days in a row of hunting in Montana was definitely a challenge (for my setter as well as me!.) Working out every morning is a definite must if you want to hunt into your 60's and 70's. Most of my ski and hunting buddies are 10-20 years younger than me, so it I get pushed a little, which is definitely good for me! BTW-I have been looking for a duck club to join-if you guys have any openings, let me know! Rick

I'm also finding that age is slowing me down a bit. I work out daily but at 61 it's not as easy to get up and charge off on the second day of hunting pheasants. The third day is a definite rest day. Ducks, now, that's different. I have a UTV and can haul my equipment to the blind and back. It's much easier on the body plus I carry a store for cooking breakfast, a heater for staying warm, plus anything else I think I might need to comfortably hunt that day. Very civilized, eh?

We just added a 75 year old member to the duck club. He indicated he doesn't get to the blind until 8:30 or 9:00. Now that is VERY civilized.

Karl

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Haha, yeah I definitely identify with the "civilized" philosophy...certain "creature comforts" are more important than ever now that I've learned I'm not so tough anymore, lol!!